At the edge of a canal, a woman is selling peat from a large wooden barrel. In the background, a boy in a boat pulled up to the canal's edge passes pieces of peat/turf to the woman. Behind the boy, gabled roofs of city buildings can be seen. In the foreground, a man walks away from the woman. He carries a large, heavy basket of peat on his sturdy back and shoulders.
Peat was a major fuel source for both industries and domestic use in the Netherlands during the 17th century. Peat was removed from riverbanks when canals were dug linking one town with another. As watery swamps and bogs were d...read more